Chapter 8: Disintegration

  The crowd suddenly fell silent, some staring at Cao Sen's abdomen secretly plotting, others looking down at the ground as if it had nothing to do with them, and some pretending not to have heard Cao Sen's words, still desperately absorbing the energy from Cao Sen's body.

  Cao Sen's spiritual energy retracted, and the vortex of energy disappeared from his lower abdomen, hiding deep within his body once again.

  Those who were absorbing energy immediately cut off their source and looked at Cao Sen with a sense of discontent.

  Cao Sen's gaze swept through the crowd, discovering several malicious glances. He sneered inwardly and intentionally placed his hand under his armpit, lightly opening the snap on the gun handle. He knew the principle that a commoner is innocent until proven guilty, but one who conceals a weapon is guilty.

  "I saved you all and absorbed the energy you needed, so we're even. No one owes anyone anything, from now on everyone goes their separate way. If anyone has any ideas, speak up now. Don't blame me for being ruthless if you try to stab me in the back!"

  As soon as Cao Sen's voice fell, Lao Shupi and Mei Fang stood behind him, Xiang Xiang thought for a moment, also squeezed into the crowd and stood beside Cao Sen.

  The little guy Ludi also came over with a big head, looking at everyone with an indignant gaze.

  "Everyone, we're all fellow travelers, let's talk things over, absolutely no fighting. No matter what, Mr. Cao saved us, we can't repay kindness with treachery."

  Cao Sen sneered inwardly, having seen people repay kindness with enmity before, and Zhu Jianjun was a prime example. He was very disappointed in these ability users, originally coming here to make friends and seek guidance, but after slightly interacting with them, he found that they were either hiding ulterior motives or only cared about their own personal interests, without any men who could share his heart and soul. At this moment, Cao Sen suddenly missed his brothers dearly, and the idea of staying in the ancient path for two days was also dispelled.

  "Kinta, you don't have to pretend to be a good person here," a mutant said in a shrill voice. "What right does he have to absorb all the energy from the ancient path? This is different from saving us."

  "That's right!" Another person also spoke up, "If saying that saving a life can do whatever you want, then I'll save one life and kill another, without having to take any responsibility."

  Right! With someone taking the lead, a chorus of approval rose from the crowd.

  Xiang Xiang was furious, "Damn it, are you guys human? If we hadn't saved your lives, would you have the guts to fart around here?"

  Cao Sen stood up and pulled Xiang Xiang behind him, "Today I'll take it by force, whoever is not satisfied, step out!"

  Everyone suddenly fell silent, able to completely absorb the enormous energy in the ancient path and form a brand new energy space within their body. Such a person, no matter which hetero, would not dare to provoke lightly.

  Jin Da's fists were clenched in anxiety, but he didn't know how to comfort the crowd.

  "I don't just want the energy in this ancient path, I also want to occupy this ancient path," Cao Sen said domineeringly. "If you're not convinced, come and exchange blows with me. If you dare not make a move, get out of my sight now!"

  Awesome! Xiang Xiang admires and gazes at Cao Sen's broad shoulders, looking like a big brother. From now on, little sister will follow you!

  Mei Fang felt that Cao Sen's approach was very much in line with her temperament, and since they had already torn their faces apart, they might as well go all the way. If you don't cut off what needs to be cut off, there will be trouble later on.

  Everyone did not expect Cao Sen to be so tough, even wanting to occupy Gu Dao, and they didn't know how to respond.

  "I'll say a couple of things," said a man in his thirties with a clear face, "I've wanted to speak out for a long time, but I never had the chance."

  Mei Fang took a step forward and whispered to Cao Sen: "His name is Huo Yun, his special ability seems to be in the Taoist magic aspect, it's very difficult to deal with."

  "We can cultivate in this ancient path, thanks to Jin Da Chui." Huo Yun continued, "He was the first to discover this place. Afterwards, whoever came, whether it's a noble or a commoner, we treated them as old friends. Among us, who else has such broad-mindedness besides him?"

  Hu Yun stood there for a moment, and naturally had a taste of being virtuous and upright, making Cao Sen feel comfortable in his heart.

  "But how are we going to deal with him?" Huo Yun looked around at the people, "Treat him like a janitor!"

  "How do we get along with each other? Not as friends, not as like-minded confidants, but as enemies, as opponents, as sworn enemies!" Huo Yun said, his voice rising in excitement.

  Several people who were impatient and wanted to retort were glared at by Cao Sen and immediately became obedient.

  "We guard against each other like enemies, afraid that others will know our secrets, afraid that others will learn our ultimate skills and surpass us. We are cautious in every step, on guard at every moment. In this ancient path of a thousand years, are we still living as individuals?"

  "Let's talk about today, Mr. Cao single-handedly saved us all, but you guys don't even have a bit of gratitude, instead you want to take advantage of Mr. Cao, I ask you, are your hearts still human? Do you still have normal human thinking?"

  What he said wasn't bad, it's just a bit sour, Cao Sen thought to himself.

  "These words have been pent up in my heart for a long, long time. Today, I finally speak them out by taking advantage of Mr. Cao's affair. I, Huo Yun, declare that from now on, I will never live such a life again. I want to return to the normal human society and be friends with iron-blooded men like Mr. Cao!"

  "Good!" Xiangxiang shouted loudly and applauded vigorously.

  "Ho big brother, today I acknowledge you as my big brother." Cao Sen stretched out both hands towards Huo Yun.

  Huo Yun also stretched out his hands to Cao Sen, and the four hands clasped together.

  Look out! Mei Fang and Old Tree Bark shouted a warning to Cao Sen at the same time.

  Cao Sen's hand had just touched the gun handle when Huo Yun reacted. His right middle finger and thumb snapped together, making a quick popping sound as he shouted: Break!

  Cao Sen immediately saw a scorching energy burst out from Huo Yun's fingers, shooting towards a dense cloud flying over in the sky like an arrow. The cloud instantly ignited, resembling the fiery clouds at sunrise, casting a reddish glow on everything around.

  The old tree bark reminded Cao Sen: "Cao Lao Da, that cloud has a very strong corrosive property, and if people touch it with their skin, they will be completely rotten. Be careful."

  Xiang Xiang spoke directly, "Boss, it was that old guy with a long goat beard who did it, kill him quickly!"

  Cao Sen instinctively reached for his gun, but then relaxed his grip on the handle. On this ancient path, among these superpowered individuals, resorting to guns seemed beneath him. His only proficiently mastered ability was control over forces, so Cao Sen focused his gaze on the goat-bearded man, severing the earth's pull on him.

  The goat whisker sneak attack failed, originally wanted to escape, foot strength suddenly rose like a cloud and flew up to a height of over ten meters, waving hands and feet in the air.

  Cao Sen's eyes flashed, and the goat-bearded man threw himself at a sharp rock, his head aimed squarely at it. When it came to dealing with enemies, Cao Sen had never been one to show mercy.

  Among the crowd's cries of surprise, just as the goat-like beard was about to burst, Jinda's hammer let out a loud crack: "Rise!"

  Cao Sen saw a strip of energy like silk flying out from Jinda's chest, wrapping around the body of Shan Yang Hu Zi, pulling him away from the mountain rocks and falling into a dense thicket.

  "Mr. Cao... this... let him off the hook, shall we? The ancient way can't possibly result in loss of life, it's a treasure left to us by our ancestors." Jin Da-chui said cautiously, fearing that Cao Sen would lose his temper because he had blocked his attack.

  "No problem, you," Cao Sen said with a hint of a goat-like beard, "get out of here immediately!"

  The goat-bearded man glared at Cao Sen and Huo Yun with hatred, got up and crawled into the cave to escape.

  Cao Sen coldly gazed at his back, just as he was about to exit the cave. Suddenly, Cao Sen drew his gun and fired. Bang! A cloud of blood burst forth from the back of the man with the goat-like beard, and he tumbled out of the cave, landing on a pile of rocks where he convulsed several times before lying still.

  Everyone present was stunned except for Mei Fang who remained calm and expressionless. No one had expected Cao Sen to actually dare to kill someone.

  In fact, Cao Sen originally wanted to let Shan Yang Hu Zi go, but he shouldn't have glared at Cao Sen with that one eye. That one glance made Cao Sen truly intent on killing him, and he didn't want to leave behind an enemy with special abilities. The young and vigorous Cao Sen, who was always strong-willed, simply didn't know what it meant to show mercy.

  Seeing the gloom on Huo Yun's face, Cao Sen sneered at his obstinacy in his heart. "Huo big brother, don't blame me for being ruthless, this kind of person can't be kept."

  Huo Yun nodded slightly, let out a soft sigh, and pointed at the corpse from afar. The raging flames enveloped the body, reducing it to ashes in an instant.

  After this performance, all the heteromorphs fell silent, and there were no more questions or dissenting voices. What happened next was beyond Cao Sen's expectations, as almost everyone left the ancient road as soon as possible, leaving only Jindachui, Huoyun, Meishi sisters, and Ludi behind.

  Six people plus Old Tree Skin sat in a thatched hut discussing their next move.

  "If you have nothing else to do, come to my place." Cao Sen invited them to visit Nanquan City.

  Xiang Xiang was definitely willing, Mei Fang didn't seem to object either, Jin Da Chui hesitated a bit, while Huo Yun neither opposed nor agreed, and the little guy Lu Di shook his big head looking at this one and that one.

  "Lao Jin, is there anything inconvenient?" Cao Sen asked.

  "Brother, I won't hide it from you, where I go doesn't matter, the problem is... Ah, the problem is..." Jin Da Chui trailed off.

  "What is the problem?"

  "It's really embarrassing to say this, but I've run out of money." Jinda's face turned bright red.

  "Uncle Jin spent all the money on Gudao," Ludi said bluntly, "Everyone in Gudao is spending my uncle's money."

  Hu Yun's face turned red for a moment, "Ashamed, since I acquired this ability, all my thoughts have been on this, without Brother Jin's support, I would have starved to death long ago."

  Cao Sen realized that this Jin Da hammer was indeed a kind-hearted person, inviting many abnormals to the ancient way without saying anything, and even taking out his own money to bear all the living expenses of everyone, resulting in his bankruptcy. Hey, I really didn't expect there to be such an honest person in this era.

  "Don't worry about a few things, we're like old friends and brothers. From now on, I'll take care of all the expenses." Cao Sen said.

  "How can that be?" Jin Da's age was almost twice Cao Sen's, and for Cao Sen to support him, he couldn't accept it no matter what.

  Huo Yun couldn't accept Cao Sen's kindness, but Xiang Xiang nodded generously.

  "Big brother, I haven't bought new clothes for a long time, after we get down the mountain you have to buy some for me..."

  "It's like this," Cao Sen interrupted Xiang Xiang's daydream, "I've run into some trouble in Nanquan City and need a few people to help me out. Once we're in Nanquan City, I'm the local boss, so naturally I'll have to play host."

  This reason is acceptable to everyone.

  "Brother, what trouble have you encountered?" Jin Da asked.

  Cao Sen then picked out what could be said and told it again.

  Xiang Xiang jumped up excitedly after hearing, "Yes! There are ghosts to catch! Yes!"

  "This world is full of wonders," Huo Yun sighed, "with us freaks and the ghosts that Cao Sen spoke of. If it were in the past, I would never have believed it."

  The topic then shifted to ghosts, as they gradually became more familiar with each other, and Jinda's words slowly increased, chatting with Lao Shupi for an entire afternoon, mostly about folk legends and street gossip. Cao Sen didn't find any useful information in it, but Jingjing and Ludi listened with great interest.

  It was early winter, and the sky had darkened quickly. A few people chatted until they felt hungry, and by then it was already dark. They decided to spend the night in an ancient path and continue walking the next day. After dinner, Huo Yun called Cao Sen alone into a room.

  "Brother, there are some things that I as your older brother need to tell you."

  Cao Sen guessed that Huo Yun was here to comfort himself about the murder at noon, and he also wanted to find an opportunity to talk to Huo Yun about his own thoughts, so he said straightforwardly: "Cloud brother, just say what you want."

  "Although we've just met, I can tell what kind of person you are - a tough and unyielding individual, resolute and decisive, with a strong sense of justice. However, brother, one cannot be too rigid, for being overly rigid makes it easy to break. Otherwise, why would there be the phrase 'iron-blooded tenderness'?"

  "Just like at noon today, you shouldn't have shot and killed someone. There were a few more people on the ancient road who could be befriended, I originally wanted to introduce them to you, but because of that one shot, you scared everyone away. Brother, think about it, who dares to associate with someone who doesn't take human life seriously?"

  Cao Sen wanted to express his own thoughts, but Huo Yun waved his hand and said, "I know what you're thinking, you don't want to leave any future troubles. Brother, your view on this is a bit one-sided. Just because we let him go today, does it mean he'll definitely become an enemy in the future? Maybe later on, he can still become a friend, after all, there's no deep-seated hatred between us. Moreover, if you kill this person, you'll lose the chance to make friends with many people who could have been friends, and give those who resent you a reason to attack you. Is it really worth it?"

  Cao Sen hung his head and remained silent.

  "Don't blame me for speaking frankly, big brother is older than you by a few years, some things I think are farther ahead than what you see, many things in my view, fighting and killing can't solve problems, at least not the best way to solve them, you should try using wisdom to defeat your enemies, rather than just relying on brute force."

  Huo Yun's words had a profound impact on Cao Sen, perhaps what he said made sense, and maybe he himself was overreacting at noon.

  "Zao Sen, I think you're a wise person and someone who can listen to advice, that's why I stayed behind to tell you what I just said. Brother, you're still young and the road ahead is long, never be so impulsive in the future, impulsiveness can be deadly!"

  Cao Sen savored Ho Yun's words repeatedly, and after a long time, he said to Ho Yun: "Brother Ho, I've remembered everything you said. Thank you for trusting me so much, little brother was indeed reckless at noon."

  "I was right about you after all!" Huo Yun said excitedly.

  "But, Hao Ge, since you've been so open with me, I don't want to hide my own thoughts either." Cao Sen said frankly, "As for the enemy, I will absolutely not show any mercy."

  Seeing Huo Yun's disappointed expression, Cao Sen hastily added a sentence, "However, from now on I will narrow down the scope of 'enemies'."

  Huo Yun thought for a moment and understood Cao Sen's meaning, and said with joy: "Good, selectively absorbing others' opinions, brother, you are a hundred times stronger than I was when I was young."

  "Come on, He Dage, no need to be modest in front of good brothers."

  Huo Yun shook his head and said gloomily, "It's not humility, when I was young... Ah, never mind the old stories, brother, I have something very important to tell you."

  "You said, He Dage."

  "In fact, you didn't kill that person."

  "What?" Cao Sen stood up in surprise.

  Huo Yun nodded solemnly, "The ancient path hides dragons and tigers, someone simulated the scene after you fired with an illusion, including me burning the corpse. In fact, from the moment your gun went off, everything we saw were things that never happened."

  Cao Sen slowly sat down, this was really beyond his expectations. What kind of person could make an illusion so realistic? If such a person had hostile intentions, the consequences would be unthinkable.

  "Don't blame me for not telling you in time, I didn't want you to make more enemies. And the person who created the illusion didn't have any malicious intentions." Huo Yun continued, "It's good that things ended like this, brother, you should thank that person."

  "Big brother, do you know who he is?"

  Huo Yun shook his head, "We know very little about each other, I don't know who it is."

  Cao Sen felt a sense of powerlessness for the first time. If it wasn't for Huo Yun telling him, how long would he have been deceived? A day, a year, or a lifetime? The world is vast and there are countless heroes. Cao Sen, from now on, you must never underestimate the heroes of the world again. Thinking back to his boastful declaration at noon that he was going to occupy the ancient path, he felt a bit embarrassed. Among the more than 20 ability holders in the ancient path, he didn't know how many people could easily defeat him. The reason they chose to leave was because they didn't want to be on the same level as him!

  Huo Yun observed his words and expressions, fearing that Cao Sen would become self-deprecating and lose confidence from now on, so he wanted to advise him a couple of sentences.

  "Big brother," Cao Sen thought for a moment and said with a smile, "Thank you, big brother. This is my sincere gratitude to you, big brother. It's because of you that I've come to realize the vastness of the world, and know that there are mountains beyond mountains, and skies beyond skies. From now on, I'll be more careful in my actions, and handle things with care. But, big brother..."

  Cao Sen's eyes gleamed with spirit as he spoke, and Huo Yun dared not meet his gaze.

  "But I, Cao Zhen, am not a person who can be molded like clay, one day I will roam the world and meet all the heroes!"

  Huo Yun looked at Cao Sen, who was full of vigor and spirit, with a heroic aura that seemed to soar through the clouds. In his heart, Huo Yun admired this young man, seeing in him the majestic air that only a true leader possessed. Such a man would not be content to remain hidden in the mundane world, but would surely rise to great heights someday.

  This heartfelt conversation brought the two people closer together, and they had a sense of mutual appreciation. As they chatted about other topics, the awkwardness of their initial meeting was swept away.

  Cao Sen asked: "Huo big brother, how much do you know about the Mei sisters?"

  "Those two girls," Huo Yun adjusted his emotions, "I know a bit about their situation. The sisters' parents passed away early, leaving behind a large inheritance, living without worries but lacking the love of their parents. The younger sister, Mei Xiang, was almost raised by her older sister, Mei Fang, so she is more spoiled and has a lively and outgoing personality. The older sister is more introverted and handles things more carefully. It's just that because they lost the protection of their parents, the sisters grew up to be beautiful but suffered in society, so after growing up, they became somewhat arrogant towards others. Brother, these two girls are not bad at heart, so in the future, give them some leeway."

  Cao Sen nodded in agreement.

  Huo Yun said: "I've analyzed the things that happened to you at Dongda, and in my opinion, the teaching building you mentioned seems to have a problem, it's not just as simple as two ghosts, one male and one female."

  "Is there something wrong with the teaching building?"

  "That's right. This ghost can't hide anywhere, but wherever there is a ghost, there must be something special about it. I'm not quite sure what's so special about it either, let's go to Nanquan City together and take a look, maybe we can find some clues."

  "Does big brother know where there's someone familiar with ghosts?"

  Huo Yun smiled wryly and said: "There was indeed someone in the ancient path who made a living by driving out ghosts, unfortunately, you scared him away."

  Cao Sen smiled awkwardly, "Do you know his address?"

  Huo Yun shook his head, "We rarely communicate with each other."

  "By the way, He Da Ge, where did you graduate from?"

  "He was originally a teacher in a town, but after coming to practice the ancient way, he had long been expelled from school."

  "You always talk about cultivation, what exactly does cultivation refer to?" Cao Sen asked the question he had been wanting to ask.

  "It's actually very simple, it's just absorbing the hetero-energy from the ancient path and converting it into your own hetero-energy. Cultivation is just repeatedly going through this process, accumulating and improving your abilities. How come you've never needed to absorb energy?" Huo Yun asked in surprise.

  "I don't need it, I never needed to absorb anything."

  "How do you control objects remotely?"

  Cao Sen then explained how he used his control power to manipulate objects and gave a simple demonstration.

  Huo Yun furrowed his brow, considering for a moment before saying: "Your ability is something I've never seen before, it's an entirely new form. Let's go find Old Jin to discuss it, and also that tree spirit you call 'Old Tree Bark', let everyone analyze it together."

  Cao Sen nodded and followed Huo Yun out of the house.

  When they found them, Xiang Xiang was coercing Old Tree Bark to tell a more pleasant story. Old Tree Bark deliberately didn't speak, just to enjoy Xiang Xiang's punches and kicks. Ludi stood by, laughing and watching.

  Mei Fang was talking to Jin Da Chui, Mei Fang never knew what it meant to regret not falling, not only did she often regret her chess moves, but also forced Jin Da Chui to regret his moves and put them in the place she specified. Jin Da Chui had a good temper and deep chess skills, no matter how much Mei Fang relied on luck, his white chess pieces always had the upper hand.

  Mei Fang saw Cao Sen coming over and slapped the chessboard with his hand, causing the black and white pieces to mix together instantly. The game of chess could no longer be distinguished as win or lose.

  Huo Yun looked at the scene in front of him and felt a sense of emotion. He had been to Gu Dao for several years, but this was the first time he saw such a harmonious and warm scene. He told everyone about Cao Sen's unique ability, and after listening, Lao Shu Pi said something that surprised several people.